Let's just say that I'm exited to have broken my record when it come to travel distance & yes for the first time ever, I even left Canada. I travelled for a week to Riviera Maya to stay at the Grand Sirenis with my whole college class. I was glad to have traded the cold rainy day  in Canada for the warm summer sunshine in Mexico. What I didn't expect from my first vacation outside  of Canada, was how much different it was. It was like stepping in another world where everything was new and different like the weather, the plants, the trees, the animals. I was very grateful of the opportunity that my college gave us in order to this beautiful place. Without further more here are some of the fun excursion I did during my stay.


                              

(getting super excited, cause we are finally there) 

First we went to Xcaret, which is a very a large park filled with 40 attractions. I'm afraid to say that I got lost many time, cause it's just so huge. My favourite part was to swim with the nurse shark & petting them (which felt like wet sand paper.) I also love the underground river  that was include with the bracelet (it had amazing view).  This labyrinth is filled with cave & tunnel ,you get to swim in this fresh water stream with a snorkel gear and a life jacket which is fun for everyone.



                           

                           
                                                         ( the nurse sharks)

                            
(Just wanted to be a turtle....kinda like the teenage mutant ninja turtle...don't you judge me)

Second we went to Xel Ha, I found comparing to Xcaret was a little smaller with a lot more physical & water Activities. They had great spots for snorkelling,  Zip lining in water,  cliff diving , going down the lazy river with a tube & many other activities.


One of our last excursion was Tulum, it was a very interesting tour about the Mayan past lifestyle. Our tour guide Alfanso was do funny & told us many fun different fact that made the tour even more amazing. Since Tulum was a tour that didn't have much water activities I would suggests to bring lots of water to help you keep hydrated.
                                                       ( some picture of the tour)
                           

                              
 
In all Mexico was a wonderful place, I really just enjoyed the simplest thing like how the warm sunshine would caress my skin, the long walk on the beach in the warm humid breeze, the delicious food and let's not forget the amazing staff at the resort that made us feel like home. Adios Mexico, until next time.....which hopefully I shall return.

"There is no place like home"~ Dorothy (The wizard of Oz)




Out of all the places that I've in my life. There is always this one special place that I will return until the end of time. This amazing place is none other than my home town called Saint-Louis de Kent. For a very small village it has a lot of Acadian history, as well as a lot of wildlife attraction for the nature lovers...... So here are some random facts about this place & since mostly nobody knows where it is ...here is a map.

                                 

First off, I'm going to talk about a very important person that is part of our Acadian history. Archbishop Marcel-Francois Richard was a well known priest in Saint-Louis & Rogersville. He was born on the 9th of April 1847 in Saint-Louis. He was named ''Father of the Acadian'', for the reason he created the Acadian flag, the feast day which  is on the 15th of August and also decided the Acadian anthem ''Ave Maris Stella''. He also played an important role in the french education for the young Acadian, in which he helped create  ''college Saint-Louis'' a bilingual school in the 1874.
                                                       
                                                       (Mgr Marcel-Francois-Richard)

In 2009, twas the 225 anniversary of our flag, so they decided to build the biggest Acadian flag in the world. It currently stand over 30 feet high at the heart of this little village. It's tricolor represent the motherland of Acadia, Which is France. The yellow star is the symbol of the virgin Mary, she is the patron saint of the Acadians.
                                  

Very close to this majestic flag is the ''Replica of the Lourde grotto & Calvary'' that was build in the year 1878. This grotto has little pathway in the forest with beautiful flower garden that leads you to religious statue and down the hillside a shrine of the loving Virgin Mary. That shrine has also had problem with vandalism in the past year.

 

Next to our beautiful Grotto is Saint-Louis 200 meter long wooden bridge. The bridge is over 70 year old & since 2011, has a weight restriction of 5 tonne. Which mean only car & pick up truck can drive trough it. It's been a couple of year since the government wanted to replace the bridge, due to probably the fact that it's close to falling apart. But for some reason it's still currently there.But mostly I think the town people are a little concern about having a new bridge, cause it might damage the grotto since it's so close by.

                              
                                        ( The old wooden bridge infested with pigeons)  

For the little hippy in all of us is the park Kouchibouguac, that is located close to Saint-Louis. The park was established in 1969. The name Kouchibouguac derive from Mi'Kmaq, which mean ''River of the long tides''. The park has a lot of activities such as campground, hiking trail,cycling trail, Kelly beach that is a 25 kilometer dune.The dune is  home of the endangered piping plover.

                                     
                                                       ( The cute little piping plover)

 In the winter time, you can participate in cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, winter walking & back-country camping. The cool part is that they have wooden rustic shelter along the ski trail, just in case you want a warm place to sleep. The park has also joined a project with the ''Royal astronomical society of Canada'' to reduce light pollution, so they can preserve the beautiful night sky, that makes it easy for tourist to participate in star & planet gazing.

(Some random pictures of this amazing park)






                               


Last but not least here is a picture that pretty much sum up what I talked about in Saint-Louis.

                                                               Flying into paradise!
If my life was a dream. Just like the amazing images that I see overnight while I sleep. With any good dream I wouldn't change a thing. Because ever since I was a little girl probably around the age of six, I would dream that I could fly freely. With the ability to fly, I could go on crazy adventure that my heart desired. But if I could choose any place, Brazil would be my top numero uno. I'm very fond of this place, probably because I watch the Rio cartoon for the 100th time or mostly cause Miss. G explains it so beautifully. These are the things I would do if  I ever  had a chance to visit this tropical paradise.


                                                                 (Rio de Janeiro)

First off, I would like to go on top of the Corcovado mountain to see the 120 feet statue called Christ the Redeemer.  Its still one of my favorite statue despite the fact it got hit by lightning for the second time in the last few week.(It manage to leave marks on his head and a damaged middle finger.....Christ is Bad-ass.) Plus on top of the mountain you have a nice view that overlooks Rio de Janeiro.
                                           
                                                                   (Chris the redeemer)
                                                                                                                                                         
                                  
                                            (Christ the redeemer getting hit by lightning)

Secondly, with any warm place, I would go to beaches like Copacabana, Ipanema or even the Prainha beach. Since the last beach is popular for surfing, I would probably attempt to learn how to ride them scary waves. Haha take that mother nature!! Revenge for what you did to the Christ of Redeemer.

                             
                                                              (Copacabana Beach)

Thirdly, I would go visit Iguazu Fall that is composed of an average 300  waterfalls.The sunlight and mist from the falling water make Iguazu also a nice place for rainbows. The Iguazu fall can be seen from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. But the view from Brazil and Argentina are the most popular.The falls are just so beautiful in pictures that it has become a must see on my to do list.

    
                                                         (The majestic waterfalls)

Last but not least, I would love to go explore the rain forest and do some bird watching. The main reason is that Brazil is known for having one of the biggest bird diversities in the world (1,901 different species). But I have to admit I'm sad to say that the Rain forest has suffered a lot of  deforestation. Mostly due to ranching, hydroelectric dam, mining, soybean production, logging that have been happening during the years. Also the the rate of deforestation  has risen 28%  in the year 2013 itself. Which also leads me wanting to go has soon as possible in order to enjoy the wilderness.

                       
                                             (Deforestation picture that breaks my heart)

             Here are some picture of Brazilian birds:

                                 
          (Blue and yellow macaw)                                                                  (Scarlet macaw)

                                           
            (Hyacinth Macaw)                                                                        (Brown Violet-ear)

                     
                     ( Ramphastos toco)                                                         (Magellanic Penguin)

                    

                                       ( this Creepy yet funny looking bird called Potoos Silverpot)